Thanksgiving At The Homestead

This Thanksgiving we gathered around the well-loved farm house table in Alex's parents' kitchen at the Bradstreet Homestead. We shared food, sometimes funny and even bizarre stories (Alex will write about that later) and the love and familiarity among three generations.



The table was set with my mother-in-law's Royal Doulton, assorted Pyrex pieces, Victorian dishes passed down from now-passed great aunts and a bouquet of fir tips, winterberry and beech leaves, gathered at the pond across the road.






All the food, with the exception of Aunt Carol's pretty Jell-O salad, was from food grown on the homestead, or at least gathered, harvested or preserved and made in Maine. We brought the cranberry sauce that Alex had canned from local cranberries and the three pies he made--pumpkin, pecan, and apple. The squash and potatoes had grown just yards from the table, a month or so before. It was all delicious. And that Jell-O salad proved fascinating, as Olivia and Adam had never before seen a Jell-O mold, and if not locally sourced, it was made by loving hands, regardless.





After the meal, the kids searched the back rooms upstairs with Papa, looking and finding, old CB radios, cameras and other equally fascinating gadgetry that has always been my father-in-law's passion. Eventually we could hear the CB radio going, followed by promises that at Christmas, they'd tinker with it again. Olivia was thrilled to be given several old cameras, included two old Pentax cameras. You never know what treasures can be found at the homestead.

It was good to gather with family around the table, share memories and create new, laugh and love one another.